Belt and Road, Greater Bay Area development bring golden age of opportunity

Addressing an audience of over 1,000 comprising ministers, stakeholders from Macau, the Greater Bay Area and other mainland provinces, and media, she added, “Tourism is a buoyant multilateral embrace of shared experience, cultural co-operation and people-to-people bonds.

Addressing an audience of over 1,000 comprising ministers, stakeholders from Macau, the Greater Bay Area and other mainland provinces, and media, she added, “Tourism is a buoyant multilateral embrace of shared experience, cultural co-operation and people-to-people bonds. Indeed, connectivity, inclusiveness, the promise of mutual benefits and many other ambitions are the reasons why President Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative some five years ago.”

Hong Kong anticipates playing a central role in the tourism development of the Belt and Road initiative, which encompasses some 68 countries, 65% of the world’s population and 40% of the world’s GDP.

The initiative is expected to bring about tourism development and exchange, inter-cultural appreciation and economic cooperation across its many borders. Multi-destination tourists are also anticipated, with relaxed visa regulations and additional airlift.

The Greater Bay Area, a cluster comprising Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in the southern China area, 70 million inhabitants and a combined GDP of around US$1.5 trillion, follows the lead of successful bay areas in San Francisco, New York and Tokyo. The affluent Chinese region offers numerous and complementary tourism resources that will also attract multi-destination trips.

"The Belt and Road Initiative and the Greater Bay Area development, which are about collaboration and sharing benefits, have presented us with new potential,” said Financial Secretary Paul Chan, at the keynote luncheon.

“Hong Kong as the world's most visited city, freest economy, top financial centre, safest city and one which has one of the world's best educational facilities and the world's top hotel brands, is your ready partner to leverage on the opportunities offered by the two initiatives.”

Together the new Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge have created unparalleled access to and within the Greater Bay Area, helping open up new opportunities in tourism as well as economy and trade.

Said Anthony Lau Chun-hon, executive director of Hong Kong Tourism Board, during a panel, “We are at the beginning of a golden age of opportunity that will make the Greater Bay Area a destination of choice for tourists from every corner of the world. By working together we can steer the region’s tourism industry towards exciting new horizons.”